14 Identity Theft Methods Used by Criminals

Identity theft isn't new, but it's on the rise. The sheriff's department says that thousands of Los Angelenos fall victim to identity theft every year, and that it's the fastest-growing form of consumer theft in the nation.

Stay ahead of the game and protect yourself by becoming familiar with the methods crooks use. From old-fashioned mailbox fishing to shoulder surfing and trolling social networking sites, get inside criminals' heads and prevent you and your family from becoming a victim.

The following information was provided by the LASD.

• Skimming. Thieves steal credit/debit card numbers by using a special storage device attached to ATM machines. The device reads the magnetic strip on your card which thieves use to commit fraud.
• Phishing. By pretending to be financial institutions or companies, thieves can send spam or pop-up messages to get you to reveal your personal information. Be sure your firewall, anti-virus, and anti-spyware software is up-to-date. Use identity theft protection. Never click on links in pop-up windows or in spam e-mail. 
• Changing Your Address. Thieves divert your billing statements to another location by completing a change of address form. 
• Old-Fashioned Stealing. Thieves target wallets and purses, mail, bank and credit card statements, pre-approved credit offers, new checks, tax information, personnel records, or bribe employees who have access.
• Pretexting. Thieves use false pretenses to obtain your personal information from financial institutions, telephone companies, and other sources. 
• Fishing. Thieves use string to lower pieces of cardboard covered with glue down blue mail boxes and open envelopes that stick looking for personal information they can steal. 
• Dumpster Diving. Thieves will go through your trash looking for bills, credit cards and other information. Shred anything containing your personal information including credit card offers and “convenience checks” that you don’t use. 
• Information retrieval. Thieves desire your hard drive with personal information on it. Have your hard drive professionally erased before disposing of it.
• Victim research. Thieves access government registers, Internet search engines, and public records to gain pieces of your personal information. 
• Remote thievery. Thieves can read contactless or smartcard credit cards remotely with a compact radio frequency device. 
• Shoulder surfing. The thief simply eavesdrops on transactions you make in public and pick up whatever useful information you disclose. 
• Computer identity theft. With the use of computer viruses, hacking, and zer-day attacks, thieves can get personal information from your computer. 
• Employment scams. These scams advertise a bogus job and request personal information. Never give out personal identification information without knowing whom you are dealing with.
• Social networking. Thieves regularly troll social networking sites to steal personal information so they can use to commit fraud.

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For more information about preventing identity theft, check out these LASD resources.